A Quick and Easy Way to Check the Status of Your Tax Refund

This morning I posted my annual review of the Consumer Reports auto issue. Now might be a good time to publish another annual reminder: It’s tax refund season! If you have a refund due this year and you’re getting antsy for it, you can check its status easily with this simple web-based tool from the IRS web site. You’ll need to provide your social security number, marital status, and exact refund amount in order for your request to be processed.

For years, I loved to get a tax refund. In fact, it seemed the only way I could save was by having extra withheld from my paycheck so that I’d get a big refund at the end of the year. Using this method, I was able to buy a new computer, a new bike, and all sorts of other toys. (But, of course, I was never smart enough to use the money to pay down debt.)

I’m older and wiser now, and I prefer not to get a tax refund. I’d rather get my money up front so I can tuck it into a savings account. This gives me an extra boost toward my goals — like taking a trip to Argentina or Cambodia.

But let me be clear: I certainly don’t begrudge others who do choose to get a refund. Some folks are happy to let the government use their money for a year, and others are like I used to be, using the refund as a means of forced saving. That’s fine.

If you’ve always received a refund but want to see if you now have the discipline to save on your own, consider adjusting your W-4 so that less is withheld from your paycheck. (The IRS withholding calculator can help you calculate how much you should have withheld.) This will, in essence, spread your refund out over the course of a year. If you have the discipline to use this money wisely, you’ll have use of it much earlier than if you had waited for a refund.

As for myself, I’m just getting started on my taxes. Because I was out of the country in February, I haven’t had a chance to get things organized until now. In fact, at this very moment, I’m having lunch with my accountant to deliver all of my data. (My accountant is also a good friend, so it’s not like I’m making a big production out of turning in my tax documents, though.) Will I get a refund this year? It’s possible, but unlikely. Lately, I’ve had a balance due come April 15th, and I expect this year will be no different.

I did mine the second I could… I actually did a dry run with the final paycheck stubs on 1/1. I have a small business on the side and it’s so hard to get the withholding right, I get very antsy about taxes. This year I owed WAY less than I thought (the opposite of last year) so that was a very nice new year’s gift.

I am getting a mid-size refund this year (about $1600 or so). I am using it to pay back my emergency fund for some money I had to use when a home improvement project went over budget, pay for the accountant to do my tax returns and then the remainder is being split between my Roth IRA and my DH’s. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything (and I owed the state $6) but I decided that I am using the “windfall” conservatively so it works out ok for me.

Thank you for not being condescending about people who get a tax refund, as so many PF bloggers (and commenters) are. I think it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do for people who struggle to save on their own.

There’s a third choice, too. Some of us get a refund not as forced savings, and not because we’re too lazy to change our withholding, but because of our deductions! We hold out the minimum allowed in our company, but we still get a sizable amount back. (Especially this year, since we had to get a new heating system, an energy-efficient one!)

We’ve always had to pay the tax man on April 15th. This year will probably be worse than usual because we took profit on some stocks last year.
I haven’t started this year either, it’s just been so busy.

For the first time in a long time I got a refund this year, but unfortunately it’s being used to pay off a balance of the 2009 taxes when I had was withholding too little from my paycheck. Since then, many life changes (separation, move to another state, new job, new consciousness about finances) has meant that I should continue to get a refund unless tax code changes drastically. So this year, I have changed my w-4 and am putting the money away towards my goals.

“Loving” to get a tax return is like buying something for $20, pay with a $50 bill, and get $25 in change back and getting excited that the cashier gave you $25…
I will take lower taxes over having to deal with deductions, refunds, and all that mess any time.

I love getting a refund. Yes, I could have less tax withheld and have a slightly higher pay cheque, but I find that we use it better if it comes in a lump sum at the end of the tax year. It allows us to easily choose how to spend it, with much less discipline than if we saved it off every pay cheque.

My husband owns a small business and I am a traditional employee at a bank. I withhold the max I can to cover any tax my husband might have to pay. Our business is still pretty new and the idea of a big old tax bill is very scary to me. I’d rather budget what I’ve got and get a nice surprise at tax time.

Incidentally, we got a great big refund and our debt snowball is ROLLING!!!!

I hate getting a refund, I’d rather have it now and save it myself. Here’s the thing though, my allowances are already set at 15 and I got (what I consider) a huge refund this year. Is there a limit to how many allowances I can claim without any negative consequences (audits, etc)?

I think the refund can be a mental thing, like the debt snowball idea. I could keep $10 from being withheld each month, instead of getting a refund of $120, but somehow getting the $120 all at once seems better.

Incidentally, I had to pay this year, as I worked as a “contractor” over the summer. Pretty much 1/3 of my annual income came from that “self-employed” period, but before marking that income as self-employed, I was going to get a refund of over $1,000. After marking it as self-employed, I had to pay about $1,000! Luckily, it wasn’t unexpected.

As an accountant, this time of year we are preparing 1st quarter estimates for our clients, and I agree with the business owners out there, figuring out how much to withhold on your business can be very tricky! If you’re new business owners, paying extra estimated tax could definitely be a good idea, so you don’t get hit with penalties later!

We have been on both sides where we owed money and where we have gotten a refund. We have found that for us, we prefer the refund. It came out handy this year as we had a job loss and are searching for work.

JD, thank you for posting this when you did… we filed paper returns this year for the first time in YEARS and I was a little nervous about it getting there as we had to attach a bunch of not-easy-to-replace documents. After tracking our return on USPS and seeing their status there as being in Kansas for over a week, after seeing your post I went on the IRS site, checked my status, and they had the return already… whew…

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